Dolphin rescues stranded whales

Moko the dolphin came to the rescue on Wednesday of a whale and her calf in New Zealand who were in danger of death. The pygmy sperm whales beached themselves several times while rescue personnel tried to find a way to guide them safely back out to sea.

“They kept getting disorientated and stranding again,” said Smith, who was among the rescuers. “They obviously couldn’t find their way back past (the sandbar) to the sea.”
Then along came Moko, who approached the whales and appeared to lead them as they swam 200 yards along the beach and through a channel out to the open sea. read more

Reviewers spoof toy airport security checkpoint

On Amazon.com reviewers have a lot to say about the Playmobil Security Checkpoint toy.

Loosenut writes

I was a little disappointed when I first bought this item, because the functionality is limited. My 5 year old son pointed out that the passenger’s shoes cannot be removed. Then, we placed a deadly fingernail file underneath the passenger’s scarf, and neither the detector doorway nor the security wand picked it up. My son said “that’s the worst security ever!”.

D. Forest adds read more

New stove design fights global warming

Bob Crosby is putting years of experience in mechanical engineering and appropriate technologies to good use. He’s going to build a wood-burning stove that helps fight global warming …

Crosby said his stove will produce heat while providing fuel for cars, fertilizer for gardens and electricity for its own bellows.

A key fact scientific fact makes this possible.

Wood itself doesn’t burn. When exposed to extreme heat, wood gives off biogas, which subsequently burns. While these two occurrences typically happen in conjunction, this doesn’t need to be the case. read more

Get more gas when it’s cool out

In a comment on this article fenria14 wrote:

Gas stations sell a gallon of gasoline based on standard weight at a temp of 60 degrees F. As the temp rises, gasoline starts to evaporate into it’s vapor form, so if you’re buying a gallon of gas when it’s 80 degrees F outside, you’re paying for a full gallon but are instead getting less than a gallon of gas and gas vapor.

. . . if you live anywhere it regularly gets over 60 degrees F, (most of the US), you’ll get more for your money buying your gas at night or in the early morning when it’s close to 60 degrees F. read more

US watch list shuts down English travel sites

A NY Times article reports that Steve Marshall does not understand “how Web sites owned by a British national operating via a Spanish travel agency can be affected by U.S. law.” Worse, he said, “these days not even a judge is required for the U.S. government to censor online materials …” Steve Marshall lives in Spain, and operates a travel agency which serves a European clientele and books vacation trips to locations including Cuba.

In October, about 80 of his Web sites stopped working, thanks to the United States government. … read more

Transfer Outlook files to Mac [Entourage]

An acquaintance is asking how to transfer files from MS Outlook on PC to MS Entourage on Mac.

The point is that Outlook .pst files can’t be read by Entourage, which uses .mbox files. Somewhere along the line the files need to be fed through a separate filter which will convert them. Instead of spend a couple of hours figuring out which option for doing this manually is best, I might just pay $10.00 for O2M. Aside from its low cost, it seems this app will save a lot of time. It’s also recommended by Apple. read more

Fly-fishing for breast cancer survivors

Casting for Recovery is physical therapy for women after breast removal surgery. Fly-fishing requires the same range of motions traditional therapy offers to strengthen and develop muscles in the upper arm and body. CFR operates in the United States, Great Britain and Canada.

More info at Casting for Recovery.

Montel: “I want to talk about” Iraqi troops

Fox effectively fired Montel Williams after he stated during a televised interview that we ought to be at least as concerned about the 28 boys of ours who have died in Iraq since January, as we are about Heath’s death. He also shared the idea that the media community shouldn’t be discussing Ledger as an object in order to drive up ratings. This “young man . . . has not even been buried yet,” Williams admonished. He was, “somebody’s child, somebody’s father.” read more

How the Rabbi beat City Hall

Fair Lawn, Dec. 9 – An 8-foot-tall menorah has been placed in a yard across from Borough Hall, but even after all its electric candles are lighted, it will not outshine the Borough Hall and its tree, which have hundreds of lightbulbs.

A sign on the menorah – symbol of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, which began Tuesday night – reads, “There will be liberty and justice for all when I am across the street.” Rabbi Levi Neubort of the Anshei Lubavitch Outreach Center in Fair Lawn has erected what he calls a “defiant menorah” on private property facing the municipal building, because borough officials have consistently refused to allow the menorah on town property. read more

No more free Salon pass

I wanted to read a Salon article today that I bookmarked a while back, and was disappointed to find that there’s no more free lunch in the Salon.

Today, Salon allows me to choose to give one of 100 companies sponsoring its website, my personal contact information plus credit card information. And after a few days, I’ll qualify for premium membership, valued at $29.99.

In the mean time, my personal information will have been bought and sold between major retailers at least 100 times. I_couldn’t_bring_myself_to_do_it. Eventually, I’m going to have to think about shelling out the $29.99 fee. I know my privacy’s worth at least that much. I just need to figure out whether Salon is. read more

Nashville citizen’s data stolen. Too close to elections?

Thursday, 01/03/08
Data loss shakes voter trust. Facility guarded half-time on weekends

By MICHAEL CASS, Staff Writer

The Metro Nashville building from which thieves stole two computers containing sensitive voter data does not have security guards on duty for half of the day on weekends, and it has no alarm system or video surveillance.

The Metro Office Building on Second Avenue South has had one guard on duty 12 hours a day on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays for about 10 years, said Velvet Hunter, Metro General Services’ assistant director for administration. She declined to specify the hours, citing concerns that publicity could make the facility more vulnerable. read more

NJ joins California lawsuit against EPA

by Star Ledger Staff and wire reports
January 02, 2008, 5:07 PM

California sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today for denying its first-in-the-nation greenhouse gas limits on cars, trucks and SUVs, challenging the Bush administration’s conclusion that states have no business setting emission standards.

New Jersey joined the lawsuit and other states were expected to follow. The legal challenge was anticipated after the EPA on Dec. 19 denied California a waiver it needs under the federal Clean Air Act. The lawsuit was filed in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. read more

Why Bush wants children to lack insurance

Paul Krugman writes

Now, why should Mr. Bush fear that insuring uninsured children would lead to a further “federalization” of health care, even though nothing like that is actually in either the Senate plan or the House plan? It’s not because he thinks the plans wouldn’t work. It’s because he’s afraid that they would. That is, he fears that voters, having seen how the government can help children, would ask why it can’t do the same for adults.

And there you have the core of Mr. Bush’s philosophy. He wants the public to believe that government is always the problem, never the solution. But it’s hard to convince people that government is always bad when they see it doing good things. So his philosophy says that the government must be prevented from solving problems, even if it can. In fact, the more good a proposed government program would do, the more fiercely it must be opposed. read more